Paints, stains and the like are fluids with solids suspended in the fluid when properly mixed. When the fluid sits for an extended period of time, the solids tend to drop out of suspension and congregate on the bottom of the container. Before use, the solids must be re-mixed with the fluid to place them back in suspension.
Powdered materials like grout, plaster and cement are added to a liquid and mixed to create a fluid material. However, the powdered material forms lumps when added to the liquid and resists thorough mixing.
Conventional mixers require a lengthy amount of time in order to re-mix paints and the like. In addition, the quality of the mixing is frequently unsatisfactory. For example, conventional mixers that use a solid blade or paddle entrain unwanted air in the fluid because of the mixing by displacement. Conventional mixers also fail to rapidly and effectively circulate the fluid so that all the fluid comes in contact with the blade for mixing.
Conventional mixers with flow-through passages in the mixing blade have difficulty removing lumps and are slow in thoroughly mixing powdered materials with liquids to create fluids. Typically, lumps formed by the powdered material are repeatedly deflected off the conventional mixers without reducing the size or quantity of the lumps. In addition, conventional mixers have constant width flow-through which passages fail to reduce the size of lumps. These mixers do not generate desired turbulent mixing flows. Mixing times may be reduced as much as 50 to 80 percent over the mixing times using conventional mixers.